Educators especially: I encourage you to use anything you find here that is useful to your mission educating people about Earth science. E-mail me if it would help to have a larger or higher-resolution version of any of the images.

The following letter, signed by 255 members of the National Academy of Science, appears in the current issue of the journal Science. I wholeheartedly concur with the content of this letter, and republish it here in the interest of getting its message out to the world. Please take the next four minutes of your life to read it. As a responsible citizen of the planet Earth, I encourage you to share this message widely. -CB

Climate Change and the Integrity of Science

We are deeply disturbed by the recent escalation of politicalassaults on scientists in general and on climate scientistsin particular. All citizens should understand some basic scientificfacts. There is always some uncertainty associated with scientificconclusions; science never absolutely proves anything. Whensomeone says that society should wait until scientists are absolutelycertain before taking any action, it is the same as saying societyshould never take action. For a problem as potentially catastrophicas climate change, taking no action poses a dangerous risk forour planet.

Scientific conclusions derive from an understanding of basiclaws supported by laboratory experiments, observations of nature,and mathematical and computer modeling. Like all human beings,scientists make mistakes, but the scientific process is designedto find and correct them. This process is inherently adversarial—scientistsbuild reputations and gain recognition not only for supportingconventional wisdom, but even more so for demonstrating thatthe scientific consensus is wrong and that there is a betterexplanation. That’s what Galileo, Pasteur, Darwin, and Einsteindid. But when some conclusions have been thoroughly and deeplytested, questioned, and examined, they gain the status of “well-establishedtheories” and are often spoken of as “facts.”

For instance, there is compelling scientific evidence that ourplanet is about 4.5 billion years old (the theory of the originof Earth), that our universe was born from a single event about14 billion years ago (the Big Bang theory), and that today’sorganisms evolved from ones living in the past (the theory ofevolution). Even as these are overwhelmingly accepted by thescientific community, fame still awaits anyone who could showthese theories to be wrong. Climate change now falls into thiscategory: There is compelling, comprehensive, and consistentobjective evidence that humans are changing the climate in waysthat threaten our societies and the ecosystems on which we depend.

Many recent assaults on climate science and, more disturbingly,on climate scientists by climate change deniers are typicallydriven by special interests or dogma, not by an honest effortto provide an alternative theory that credibly satisfies theevidence. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)and other scientific assessments of climate change, which involvethousands of scientists producing massive and comprehensivereports, have, quite expectedly and normally, made some mistakes.When errors are pointed out, they are corrected. But there isnothing remotely identified in the recent events that changesthe fundamental conclusions about climate change:

(i) The planet is warming due to increased concentrations ofheat-trapping gases in our atmosphere. A snowy winter in Washingtondoes not alter this fact.

(ii) Most of the increase in the concentration of these gasesover the last century is due to human activities, especiallythe burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.

(iii) Natural causes always play a role in changing Earth’sclimate, but are now being overwhelmed by human-induced changes.

(iv) Warming the planet will cause many other climatic patternsto change at speeds unprecedented in modern times, includingincreasing rates of sea-level rise and alterations in the hydrologiccycle. Rising concentrations of carbon dioxide are making theoceans more acidic.

(v) The combination of these complex climate changes threatenscoastal communities and cities, our food and water supplies,marine and freshwater ecosystems, forests, high mountain environments,and far more.

Much more can be, and has been, said by the world’s scientificsocieties, national academies, and individuals, but these conclusionsshould be enough to indicate why scientists are concerned aboutwhat future generations will face from business-as-usual practices.We urge our policy-makers and the public to move forward immediatelyto address the causes of climate change, including the unrestrainedburning of fossil fuels.

We also call for an end to McCarthy-like threats of criminalprosecution against our colleagues based on innuendo and guiltby association, the harassment of scientists by politiciansseeking distractions to avoid taking action, and the outrightlies being spread about them. Society has two choices: We canignore the science and hide our heads in the sand and hope weare lucky, or we can act in the public interest to reduce thethreat of global climate change quickly and substantively. Thegood news is that smart and effective actions are possible.But delay must not be an option.

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3 Responses

Wow, this letter *already* makes a reference to Cuccinelli’s actions.I noticed nearly all opposition to climate change science in the USA has been from conservative politicans. Is it due to Al Gore that they think global warming is liberal hokum, or is it due to things like oil and coal industry influence?

The attorney general of Virginia should be ashamed of his McCarthy-like reputation. The sort of persecution he is practicing is antithetical to an open society and the functioning of scientific practice.

I think Al Gore holds a lot of responsibility for the politicization of the issue, but that if Gore never existed, then the fossil fuel lobby would have found a way to spin the issue and push their agenda regardless.

[…] “Climate Change and The Integrity of Science” May 7, 2010 tags: assault, climate change deniers, science by Christine The following letter, signed by 255 members of the National Academy of Science, appears in the current issue of the journal Science. It underlines the severity of the crisis that we are facing, and also the importance of taking action now. Please take the time to read the letter, and share it! Thanks to Callan Bentley for making the text available on his blog, MountainBeltway.WordPress.com. […]